Orange Walk, Belize: Tacos, Tacos and A Look Around

I’ve been in Orange Walk District, in the North West corner of Belize, for a day and a half now. The area is known to tourists for the Lamanai Ruins and to Belizeans for its sugar, tacos and rum. It’s the fourth largest town in Belize and on the beautiful New River. THERE ARE TRAFFIC LIGHTS! I would guess you could count the number of traffic lights in Belize on one hand. There is literally a taco stand every 20 feet. If not more often. Here’s the best one that I’ve found so far. Alicia’s Taqueria. This sign is hidden…so just look for the Social Security building. It’s HUGE. And a pretty big crowd waiting for tacos. It’s definitely a morning thing. By about noon, they are closed up tight. Here’s one that was also good. In the market. Garcia’s Tacos. These ladies are QUICK. These tacos are extra meaty and include my favorite condiment… Hot sauce is always standard but I like the chopped onion and cilantro. Adds a bit of freshness. ALSO, the meat is cooked with chicken gizzards. Ask for a gizzard in one of your tacos. Delicious. I had “dolla taco” at three different place (you get 3 tacos for $1bzd in about 8 seconds) and had to call it a morning. I turned the corner to the town plaza. I love it and all the brightly colored painting. And lots of intriguing bars like this one. AND GET THIS! Beers in restaurants are $3bzd! (In San Pedro $5bzd is pretty standard) and at this place $2.50bzd. I guess they don’t pay rent? Lots of very cool colonial looking houses… I want this one! And shops… I have LOTS more pictures of Orange Walk. What hits me immediately is the size of this town…MUCH bigger than I thought. And how busy it is….the streets are bustling throughout the day. Also the racial mix is very different from the city or the South. Most people are primarily Spanish speaking, very few Creole or Garifuna people and lots of Chinese and Mennonites. I’ll have to get to the rest later. Today I had to Shipyard, a large Mennonite community and the Cuello Rum Factory where they make the Caribbean Rum brand. I’m wearing the t-shirt they gave me yesterday. I love it. I’ll be reporting back to you for sure.

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Yum, the tacos sound great, and so cheap! Would also be interested in where you are staying there — hope you found a decent place. I guess we actually have been to that district, since we went to Lamanai, but that was the extent of it. Thanks for the report!

Belize Blog

I’m at a really good place. The Hotel De La Fuente! Sounds quite regal, right?

TarheelBornGal

The Hotel of the Source (?!), per Google Translate anyway. Sounds intriguing!

John Pascoe

Not only are there traffic lights, but there are traffic policemen too! That’ll teach me to run a red light… No chance of getting away with that bad Belize City behaviour in Orange Walk!

Belize Blog

It seems as though RED here means GUN IT. I’ve almost been hit about 8 times. Maybe 9.

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About Me

My name’s Rebecca and over eight years ago (!) I moved from Manhattan, NYC (where I worked as a bond trader at Lehman Brothers) to San Pedro, Belize. Holy crap, what a change. I spent a full year deciding if Belize was right for me, over 3 years managing a sometimes gritty bar & restaurant and now over 3 years travelling, living and writing this blog. As you can imagine, I’ve seen the good, awesome, bad and the ugly (though not often). I’ve got lots to say and so here’s my website and my daily blog.

I originally set out to show you all sides of life on the island of Ambergris Caye and now it’s time to expand to the amazing country of Belize. So much to see in one tiny country.

For more information on how and why I moved here, an estimate of how much it costs to live in San Pedro and advice about packing and planning, check out my post series about my expat life.

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As always, feel free to contact me with any and all questions you have. Feedback (positive is always preferred but not absolutely mandatory) is also welcome. It’s VERY helpful to me if you try to answer your own question by searching my site. Also, I can NOT find you a job. Honestly…I can’t. I would if I could.

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